Location: Roncade (Treviso) / New Age Club / Italy
Date: Thursday, 01/31/2019
Uriah Heep are long-living rock ‘n’ roll legends with a pioneering pedigree, and they’re not stopping or letting up. They’ve been kicking ass since the end of 1969 and are responsible for more than a few musical standards that, once they arrived on the scene with their vision and creativity, got permanently and irreversibly lodged in the vocabulary of their imitators, the ones Uriah Heep inspired, Queen included. This intro wouldn’t be quite so “theatrically pompous” if Uriah Heep weren’t also putting out fresh original material as they age gracefully, material that is and remains thoroughly credible and excellent. In September 2018 came their twenty-fifth studio album, “Living the Dream“, which in its artistic strength easily chases down the quality of “Wake the Sleeper” at the very least. What’s more, with “Living The Dream” Uriah Heep lean superbly on every era of their career. That means that on top of their chunky old-school phrasing sound, built on a combination of Hammond lines and Box’s trademark riffs, they again add more of the arranging brilliance and variety of great albums like “Sea Of Light”, “Sonic Origami” or “Raging Silence”. It’s exactly the move this seasoned band pulled out of its sleeve like a master after the somewhat barren and creatively “picked-clean” predecessor “Outsider” (2014).
The band has been refreshed in recent years, which is only natural given all the epics they’ve lived through on their long road. Keeping company with the only original member, guitarist Mick Box, who if anything gets younger with the years, are keyboardist Phil Lanzon and vocalist Bernie Shaw (both since 1986). The rhythm has been in the hands of the outstanding Russell Gilbrook since 2007, who stepped in for the ailing Lee Kerslake back then, while the guy with the shortest tenure is bassist Dave Rimmer (Box could be his father). In 2013 he replaced the late, iconic Trevor Bolder, who once played with David Bowie. This mix of experience and youthful vigor keeps Uriah Heep firmly alive and evergreen in the new era, and the crew shows absolutely no sign of rusting, creative burnout or onstage “dementia”. Uriah Heep remain a constant and the very definition of an outstanding rock ‘n’ roll band.
Our latest visit to the band confirmed it, in the Italian town of Roncade near Treviso, at the local club New Age, which apparently, after a pause of several years, has started putting big names of rock and metal back on the program. The band kicked off the show around half past nine in the evening, with no support act. The place was packed. The little club, which holds maybe 500 heads and where we saw a ton of excellent gigs, especially between 1999 and 2011, was seriously well attended. Of course, the older crowd led the way, going on a nostalgic trip back with Uriah Heep to when they grew up as teenagers on unforgettable rock’n’roll classics, headed by the cult albums “Look At Yourself”, Very ‘Eavy… Very ‘Umble”, “Salisbury”, “Demons And Wizards” and “The Magician’s Birthday”.
It was great watching the band on the small stage of a small venue. Especially the little things came to the surface, the finesse that’s often “hidden” from the audience. Particularly obvious was the constant communication between the band members, their focus on one another. Tiny gestures, hints and winks. All these little details get served up to the listener on a platter in a small club. We witnessed incredible communication from a seasoned band. A few adaptations were necessary: Russell Gilbrook’s drums were scaled down because the stage and the venue were somewhat smaller than usual. They were lined up with the other four, probably precisely so they wouldn’t drown out the sound, since otherwise the others onstage wouldn’t have been able to hear each other. Russell also didn’t have the complete kit he normally uses at gigs. But the band members, as always, had a blast during the show. The setlist was dominated by songs from the latest studio album, which was expected, especially considering how truly excellent the album is. The band knows it, so they play the new songs with great pleasure and enjoyment. Among them were the opener, the bristling, tightly wound catalyst Grazed By Heaven, then the mystical title track, as well as the incredibly punchy and infectious, mildly AOR-flavored Take Away My Soul, the chunky, old-school-sounding Knocking At My Door, the half-acoustic, charming Waters Flowing, and the most striking piece on the new album, the real mini epic suite Rocks On The Road, which was one of the highlights of the gig. This is material that blends perfectly with the classics. A couple of “sweeties” crept in among them, namely Return to Fantasy and Too Scared To Run, which the band brought back into the repertoire after a long time, and a little later they were joined by the fantastic “Demons And Wizards” classic Rainbow Demon. Then, about two thirds into the show, the band, with the sharpened, iconic Gypsy, which automatically fired up the crowd even more, announced that the gig was tipping over into a string of classic after classic. So the rest of the show, which lasted an hour and three quarters including the encore, delivered the expected “best of” classics, headed by Lookt At Yourself, stretched to over ten minutes with a theatrical jam ruled by Lanzon and Mick Box, then the yearning July Morning, the sing-along party Lady In Black, and in the obligatory encore the show’s only “The Magician’s Birthday” track Sunrise, and of course the ultra-mandatory igniter of all nostalgic rock’n’roll hearts, Easy Livin’.
With the exception of Bernie, who held back a bit, especially in the first half, which makes sense with a long tour ahead of him, the band came at it with everything and had the crowd under a spell. Bernie built the show up from song to song, and vocally he was strongest in the last third of the set.
An excellent performance in every respect. It lived up to the already high expectations. Uriah Heep are on the second leg of their new European tour in support of the album “Living The Dream“. In March 2019 they head off to Japan, then in May comes a North American tour, where they’ll be keeping company with Judas Priest, followed by a summer return to the stages of the bigger European festivals.
The band shows no signs of letting up or stopping in any way. They remain the definition of excellence and performing brilliance across the board. Box, Lanzon and Rimmer support Bernie superbly with vocal harmonies, and the band’s tightness remains dreamlike. Mick Box is as always insanely hot on guitar, backed by the incredible keyboardist Phil Lanzon, and the rhythm section is especially “youthfully” fierce, insatiable and punchy. The youngest member, Dave Rimmer, looks more at home than ever after five years with Uriah Heep. Bravo, guys, we’re looking forward to seeing you again! The first chance is coming up on Valentine’s Day, when the legendary “orchestra of orchids” stops in Vienna on 02/14/2019!
avtor: Aleš Podbrežnik
fotografije: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist:
1. Grazed By Heaven
2. Return To Fantasy
3. Living The Dream
4. Too Scared To Run
5. Take Away My Soul
6. Knocking At My Door
7. Rainbow Demon
9. Waters Flowing
10. Rocks In The Road
11. Gypsy
12. Look At Yourself
13. July Morning
14. Lady In Black
—encore—
15. Sunrise
16. Easy Livin’
